Abstract: Papers of Neil Morgan, prominent San Diego columnist, writer, editor, and civic commentator, who is best known for his column
"Neil Morgan" that appeared in the SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE (1961-1992) and the SAN DIEGO UNION (1992-2004). Morgan was
the associate editor (1977-1981) and chief editor (1981-1992) of the SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE and the associate editor (1992-2004)
and senior columnist (1992-2004) of the SAN DIEGO UNION. He is the author of numerous books and magazine articles promoting
San Diego and has written extensively on the culture and development of the contemporary American West. The papers contain
scrapbooks of pasted-in clippings of Morgan's columns, travel articles, magazine articles, and reviews of his books; subject
files for recent columns (1993-2004); typescripts for media projects, including early 1950s radio scripts; editorial memorabilia
from his career in journalism; miscellaneous typescript drafts of columns and articles; drafts and notes for speeches and
lectures; audio and videorecordings; and miscellaneous awards. Also included are programs and flyers from the Bohemian Grove
Club and a small collection of Raymond Chandler correspondence and miscellany. The papers are arranged in sixteen series:
1) SCRAPBOOKS, 2) SUBJECT FILES, 3) BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS, 4) MEDIA PROJECTS, 5) RAYMOND CHANDLER MATERIALS, 6) BOHEMIAN
GROVE CLUB MATERIALS, 7) EDITORIAL MATERIALS, 8) COLUMN DRAFTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS, 9) BOOKS, 10) MAGAZINE ARTICLES, 11)
SPEECHES AND LECTURES, 12) AUDIO RECORDINGS, 13) VIDEO RECORDINGS, 14) AWARDS, 15) RICHARD NIXON, and 16) ORIGINALS OF PRESERVATION
PHOTOCOPIES.

Repository:
University of California, San Diego. Geisel Library. Mandeville Special Collections Library.

Neil Bowen Morgan was born in Smithfield, North Carolina, in 1924. He attended Wake Forest University where he edited the
student magazine THE STUDENT. During his junior and senior years he worked as the assistant state news editor for the RALEIGH
NEWS AND OBSERVER. Morgan graduated in 1943, at the age of 19, and was called up for military service into the Naval Air
Corps training program in September 1944. He entered the U.S. Navy's three-month ensign school at Coral Gables, Florida, and
was sent to the Western Pacific Command. He came to San Diego when the war ended, finished his military service at the Camp
Kearny Naval Auxiliary Air Station, now Miramar, and was released from duty on March 15, 1946.

The next day Morgan took a job as a reporter for the SAN DIEGO DAILY JOURNAL which ran his first local article on June 15,
1946. He became the JOURNAL's music and drama editor and started a daily column in 1947 called "Air Fare" which was written
under the pseudonym Terry Nolan until July 1, 1948, when it was credited to him. In this column, Morgan reviewed the radio
scene, commented on entertainment industry personalities and their activities, and suggested interesting nightly radio programming.
In April 1947, he started a column called "Crosstown: It Happened in San Diego" which he later complemented with an evening
radio broadcast on KFMB titled "Crosstown Column of the Air." Morgan also reviewed regional cultural performances and events
in a column entitled "From Our Seat" and critiqued long-playing records in his column "Record Review." On May 27, 1950, the
Union Tribune Publishing Company purchased the JOURNAL and began publishing "Crosstown with Neil Morgan" in the SAN DIEGO
EVENING TRIBUNE on June 12, 1950. The last "Crosstown with Neil Morgan" column was published on August 17, 1961, and the
first "Neil Morgan" byline followed the next day.

In 1951, Morgan published MY SAN DIEGO, the first of a number of narrative guides that described and promoted the city's people
and lifestyle in a collection of vignettes of longer than column length. Subsequent monographs included MY SAN DIEGO, 1960;
NEIL MORGAN'S SAN DIEGO (c1963); SAN DIEGO: THE UNCONVENTIONAL CITY (1972); and SAN DIEGO: WHERE CALIFORNIA BEGAN...AND LIVES
(1957), published by the San Diego Convention and Tourist Bureau.

During the 1960s, Morgan broadened his research and writing interests to include the postwar American West and wrote a weekly,
syndicated column titled "Neil Morgan: Assignment West." He also travelled in the western states and conducted numerous interviews
for his three subsequent books WESTWARD TILT: THE AMERICAN WEST TODAY (1963), THE PACIFIC STATES: CALIFORNIA, OREGON, WASHINGTON
(1967), and THE CALIFORNIA SYNDROME (1969).

Morgan travelled extensively and regularly wrote articles for ESQUIRE, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING TRAVEL GUIDE, HOLIDAY, SATURDAY REVIEW,
CARTE BLANCHE MAGAZINE, and WESTWAYS, as well as the inflight airline magazines MAINLINER and WESTERN'S WORLD. He covered
the horseracing scene at Tijuana's Caliente Racetrack in a column entitled "Neil Morgan Writes About Caliente," published
in THE NEW YORKER (March 1955-September 1956) and later in SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (March 1957-February 1959).

At the SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE, Morgan was associate editor (1977-1981) and chief editor (1981-1992). During his leadership,
the editorial staff received two Pulitzer Prizes (1979 and 1987). After the merger of the EVENING TRIBUNE and the SAN DIEGO
UNION in 1992, Morgan served as senior columnist and associate editor until March 2004.

Neil Morgan is currently a director of "Voice of San Diego," an online news and information website in San Diego.

Scope and Content of Collection

The NEIL MORGAN PAPERS document the journalistic and literary career of a prominent San Diego newspaper columnist, editor,
author, and civic commentator. Morgan was well-known for his daily column "Neil Morgan." Since the end of World War II,
Morgan has commented through his columns, magazine articles, and books on San Diego's people, their lifestyle, and their history.
The papers include clipping scrapbooks of Morgan's newspaper columns and feature stories; his magazine articles, especially
travel articles; writings about Morgan; and reviews of his books. Included are subject files, biographical materials, files
related to radio and television projects; editorial materials; miscellaneous typescript drafts for his columns, articles,
and books; speeches and lecture notes and drafts; awards; and videorecordings. Also included are programs, correspondence,
and keepsakes from his membership in the Bohemian Grove Club and a small collection of letters from Raymond Chandler, a neighbor
and friend.

The SCRAPBOOKS series contains bound scrapbooks (1941-2003) that collect Morgan's columns, feature stories, magazine articles,
and memorabilia. The series is arranged in three subseries: A) Newspaper Columns, B) Magazine Articles, and C) Reviews of
Books by Morgan.

A) The Newspaper Columns subseries, Scrapbooks #1-#45, spans Morgan's earliest work for the RALEIGH NEWS AND OBSERVER in 1941
to his column "Neil Morgan" for the SAN DIEGO UNION. Columns represented in the scrapbooks include "Crosstown: It Happened
in San Diego," "From Our Seat," "Air Fare," "Record Reviews," "Crosstown with Neil Morgan," "Neil Morgan: Crosstown," "Neil
Morgan's Assignment West," and "Neil Morgan." Also included are travel articles for Sunday editions and special features.

B) The Magazine Articles (1955-1989) subseries, Scrapbooks #46-#51, is arranged chronologically, and a selected bibliography
of included articles begins the first four scrapbooks. Most of the articles are travel related or focus on the merits of
San Diego. In addition to his own travel writing, Morgan also co-authored several articles with his wife, Judith Morgan,
and published in magazines such as NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, SAN DIEGO MAGAZINE, HARPER'S, and THE NEW YORKER. Included in this
subseries (Scrapbooks 46-51) is Morgan's interview with Richard Nixon for ESQUIRE magazine (February 1962).

C) The Reviews of Books By Morgan subseries, Scrapbooks #52-#55, contains newspaper clippings of reviews of MY SAN DIEGO (1959),
WESTWARD TILT (1963), NEIL MORGAN'S SAN DIEGO (1963), THE CALIFORNIA SYNDROME (1967), and SAN DIEGO: THE UNCONVENTIONAL CITY
(1972).

Included in the BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS series are photographs of Neil and Judith Morgan, as well as biographical sketches
and other memorabilia.

SERIES 4: MEDIA PROJECTS

The MEDIA PROJECTS series is arranged in three subseries: A) KSDJ Radio Scripts, B) KFMB Radio Scripts, and C) NEIL MORGAN'S
SAN DIEGO. The KSDJ, the San Diego Daily Journal station, and KFMB Radio scripts contain typescripts of the "Crosstown Column
of the Air" which Morgan broadcast from the bar of Valle's Restaurant at 5th and Kalmia in San Diego. The series also contains
correspondence, typescript drafts, and interview transcripts for the KCST-TV television broadcast special of NEIL MORGAN'S
SAN DIEGO project in 1978.

SERIES 5: RAYMOND CHANDLER MATERIALS

Neil Morgan was a friend of author Raymond Chandler's and corresponded with him between 1955-1957, while the writer resided
in La Jolla and visited London. The RAYMOND CHANDLER MATERIALS series contain's Morgan's collection of letters from Chandler,
Helga Greene (Chandler's literary agent), two short story typescripts by Chandler, and correspondence with various literary
appraisers regarding the letters. Also included are materials related to the organization of a local Raymond Chandler literary
festival, related correspondence, and a file containing biographical articles about Chandler.

SERIES 6: BOHEMIAN GROVE CLUB MATERIALS

Neil Morgan became a member of the Bohemian Grove Club in 1983 on the recommendation of Walter Cronkite. The Bohemian Grove
Club is a recreational members-only association established in 1872 for "gentlemen connected professionally with literature,
art, music, and drama." The materials are arranged chronologically and include administrative and personal correspondence,
member rosters, newsletters, theater playbills, event programs, maps of the campsite, and photographs.

A) After the merge of the newspapers in 1992, Neil Morgan became senior columnist and associate editor of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE.
The Merger Materials subseries contains correspondence concerning staff changes, announcements, related newspaper clippings,
and photographs of Neil Morgan and the editorial staff of the SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE.

C) In 1983, Neil Morgan was promoted to editor of the SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE replacing Fred Kinne (editor, 1971-1983).
This subseries contains three folders of correspondence related to Morgan's promotion to the position of editor.

D) The Round Table Luncheons were established in 1983 to facilitate the interaction of editors and reporters and members of
the community for discussion. For his accomplishments, Neil Morgan won the Ring of Truth Award for Individual Enterprise
Benefiting a Copley Newspaper. The materials are arranged chronologically by date of luncheon and contains agenda, lists
of guest speakers, short introductions of guest speakers, biographical information, transcripts of discussions, articles about
the Round Tables, thank-you letters from attendees and a few recorded audio cassette tapes of the sessions.

E) The Pulitzer Prize Materials subseries contains a correspondence file related to Neil Morgan's selection as a juror for
the 1989 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism. Also included are materials related to SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE writer Jonathan
Freedman's editorial series on immigration reform which won the prize in 1987 and includes congratulation letters, newspaper
clippings, and photographs.

SERIES 8: COLUMN DRAFTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS

The COLUMN DRAFTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS series contains typescript drafts for selected published columns and articles not included
in Morgan's scrapbooks, as well as files for special projects. The series is arranged in two subseries: A) Typescripts and
B) Special Projects.

A) While the scrapbooks located in Series 1A reflect Neil Morgan's extensive journalism career, this series includes additional
newspaper clippings, some dated as early as 1952. The typescripts subseries includes clippings not included in the scrapbooks,
as well as typescripts for articles written for the SAN DIEGO UNION and SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE, photographs taken by Neil
Morgan accompanying the typescripts, and miscellaneous travel articles written by Judith Morgan.

B) The Special Projects subseries includes writing and editing projects with which Neil Morgan was involved, in addition to
daily journalism duties. The collection includes a partial manuscript written by Neil Morgan from an idea script from Raymond
Chandler, brochures, and material related to the "Faces of San Diego" video supplementing the editorial series. Also included
are correspondence materials for the Dr. Seuss Anti-Drug Poster printed for the SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE in 1989.

SERIES 9: BOOKS

The BOOKS series comprises eight subseries of writings Neil Morgan authored between 1963-1997, but it is not comprehensive
of his entire published works. The series is arranged in eight subseries: A) NEIL MORGAN'S SAN DIEGO (1963), B) WESTWARD
TILT (1963), C) PACIFIC STATES (1967), D) CALIFORNIA SYNDROME (1969), E) SAN DIEGO: THE UNCONVENTIONAL CITY (1972), F) ABOVE
SAN DIEGO (1990), G) ROGER: A BIOGRAPHY OF ROGER REVELLE, and H) Miscellaneous.

Aside from the magazine clippings included in the scrapbooks in Series 1B, the MAGAZINE ARTICLES series contains notes, typescript
drafts and research materials for several magazine articles. The series is arranged in two subseries: A) Miscellaneous and
B) NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.

A) The Miscellaneous subseries contains typed notecards, typescript drafts, and a few copies of articles for various journals
including GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, HOLIDAY, SEMINAR, and WESTWAYS. Notecards for the ESQUIRE magazine interview with Richard Nixon
are also included in the subseries.

B) The article entitled "San Diego-Where Two Californias Meet" was published in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC in 1989. Morgan has
published articles in nine other issues of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC between 1976-1989. The subseries contains correspondence,
preliminary drafts, page proofs, photographs, reviews, and research source material.

SERIES 11: SPEECHES AND LECTURES

The SPEECHES AND LECTURES series contains typescripts and notecards containing formal and informal speeches given between
1988-2003. There are also several folders containing incomplete sets of speeches; undated and untitled typescripts; and notecards.

SERIES 12: AUDIO RECORDINGS

The AUDIO RECORDINGS series contains audiocassette and reel-to-reel recordings arranged in three subseries: A) Associated
with Neil Morgan, B) Collected by Morgan, and C) Interviews by Neil Morgan.

A) The first subseries, arranged chronologically, contains audiocassettes that feature Neil Morgan as a panelist for the
American Society of Newspaper Editors, on-air radio interviews, as an announcer for SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE radio advertisements,
and an audio copy of the "Faces of San Diego" Neil Morgan narration.

B) Neil Morgan also collected several audiocassettes related to and advertising the SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE in the form
of news spots and radio jingles.

The VIDEO RECORDINGS series contains videocassette and reel-to-reel recordings arranged in two subseries: A) Associated with
Neil Morgan and B) Collected by Neil Morgan.

A) The first subseries comprises of Neil Morgan as an interviewee on the KPBS "Conversations with Gloria Penner", as a narrator
for the "San Diego: Our Historic City" and the "Faces of San Diego" documentary. The "Portraits of San Diego" contains a
portrait video still of Neil Morgan by photographer Antony di Gesu.

B) Neil Morgan collected a few videos of recorded local news stories that were done in partnership with stories featured in
the SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE newspaper. Also in the collection is a copy of "San Diego: All in a Day's Work" produced for
a San Diego Historical Society's photography exhibition.

SERIES 14: AWARDS

Included in the AWARDS series are correspondence, photographs, and memorabilia related to recognitions Neil Morgan has received
from 1983-1999 including the Ring of Truth Award (1983), Fourth State Award (1988), American Jewish Committee Institute of
Human Relations (1990), and Mr. San Diego (1999).

SERIES 15: RICHARD NIXON

The RICHARD NIXON series contains two letters from President Richard Nixon dated 1969-1970 concerning the ESQUIRE article.

SERIES 16: ORIGINALS OF PRESERVATION PHOTOCOPIES

The ORIGINALS OF PRESERVATION PHOTOCOPIES contains the originals of brittle or high acid content documents that have been
photocopied.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Morgan, Neil Bowen, 1924- -- Archives

West (U.S.) -- Civilization

West (U.S.) -- Description and travel

San Diego (Calif.) -- Description and travel

California

Contributors

Morgan, Neil Bowen, 1924- -- Westward tilt

Morgan, Neil Bowen, 1924- -- California syndrome

Morgan, Neil Bowen, 1924- -- San Diego, the unconventional city

Collection Contents

SCRAPBOOKS

Newspaper Columns

box 1, folder 1

1941 - North Carolina

Note

Contains magazine and newspaper clippings of articles written by Morgan as editor of the Wake Forest college magazine entitled
THE STUDENT and as assistant state news editor for the Raleigh News and Observer.

box 1, folder 2

1946, June - 1948, March

Note

SAN DIEGO DAILY JOURNAL - "Crosstown: It Happened in San Diego" and "From Our Seat."

box 1, folder 3

1947, February - 1948, April

Note

SAN DIEGO DAILY JOURNAL - "Air Fare" by Terry Nolan (pseudonym).

box 1, folder 4

1948, April 23 - 1948, November

Note

SAN DIEGO DAILY JOURNAL - "Air Fare." Morgan stops using the pseudonym "Terry Nolan" in early July 1948.

box 1, folder 5

ca. 1948, March - 1950, May 25

Note

SAN DIEGO DAILY JOURNAL - "From Our Seat" and "Record Reviews."

box 1, folder 6

1948, November 15 - 1950, March 28

Note

SAN DIEGO DAILY JOURNAL - "Crosstown with Neil Morgan"

box 1, folder 7

1950, March 29 - 1951, February 13

Note

SAN DIEGO DAILY JOURNAL - "Crosstown with Neil Morgan" (ends late May 1950) and SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE - "Neil Morgan:
Crosstown" (begins June 12, 1950). The SAN DIEGO DAILY JOURNAL was purchased by the Union Tribune Publishing Company on May
27, 1950.

box 1, folder 8

1951, February 14 - November 22

Note

SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE - "Neil Morgan: Crosstown."

box 1, folder 9

1951, November 23 - 1952, June 18

Note

SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE - "Neil Morgan: Crosstown".

box 1, folder 10

1952, June 19 - 1953, October 10

Note

SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE - "Neil Morgan: Crosstown".

box 1, folder 11

1953, October 12 - 1955, July 6

Note

SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE - "Neil Morgan: Crosstown".

box 1, folder 12

1955, July 7 - 1956, September 22

Note

SAN DIEGO EVENING TRIBUNE - "Neil Morgan: Crosstown". Title changes to "Crosstown with Neil Morgan" on July 24, 1956.

Includes chapter sequences and titles, early versions and final, dedication papers, books by Neil Morgan, original and duplicate
of foreward, samples of opening chapters and a sampler for a poetry extract.